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America’s British population has taken to the web to voice its displeasure at news that U.S. candy giant Hershey has successfully blocked our much loved U.K.-produced chocolate from being exported to the land of the free.

Top 50 British Tracks of 2007

I've limited this list to songs that were unreleased in the U.S. during the past year or failed to chart here. Under these criteria, I disqualified Amy Winehouse's entire Back to Black album. Her immense talent will never be questioned by me, and "Rehab" topped the list last year. But now she's a six-time Grammy nominee with a platinum album. Hardly overlooked. Nevertheless, I placed her collaboration with Mark Ronson on the list: it has quite rightly eclipsed the original Zutons version, which sounds like a demo alongside Amy's full-bodied rendering.

Single of the year has to be Arctic Monkeys's "Fluorescent Adolescent." They've had memorable singles – "I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor," "When the Sun Goes Down" – but "Fluorescent Adolescent" is their first song that could be a massive American smash. The Monkeys have finally found the pop songcraft to match Alex Turner's sharply observed lyrics. If they can keep producing songs at this level, I will begin to entertain those Smiths comparisons.

McFly's "Transylvania" will likely be a criticized choice for runner-up. But eff it: the haters are just wrong. "Transylvania" is a totally gonzo Disney rock opera, like Queen re-interpreted by the cast of High School Musical. That's not a bad thing. It's rare for a song to be both ambitious and utterly charming. The song has hooks for days, and that call-and-response chorus, "Who is your lover?/I couldn't tell," is quite simply genius.

The top 10 contains zero current Sugababes and two former ones, Siobhan Donaghy and Mutya Buena. (Take that, Keisha.) There are also two Groove Armada in the top 10, proving that they are still some of the most inventive producers out there. Ice queen Sophie Ellis-Bextor and goofball Jack Peñate impressed with joyous singles; Bat For Lashes and Maximo Park explored the internal world of heartbreak in very different ways. Following that theme is "Heartbroken" by breakout producer T2, an irresistible dance track that was a surprise hit in the UK.

Kevin Wicks

Kevin Wicks founded BBCAmerica.com's Anglophenia blog back in 2005 and has been translating British culture for an American audience ever since. While not British himself - he was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri - he once received inordinate hospitality in London for sharing the name of a dead but beloved EastEnders character. His Anglophilia stems from a high school love of Morrissey, whom he calls his "gateway drug" into British culture.

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America’s British population has taken to the web to voice its displeasure at news that U.S. candy giant Hershey has successfully blocked our much loved U.K.-produced chocolate from being exported to the land of the free.